


The Sorting Hat

by two_on_a_tower



Series: Hogwarts & Downton Abbey [2]
Category: Downton Abbey, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 07:36:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6043476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/two_on_a_tower/pseuds/two_on_a_tower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas, Jimmy, and The Sorting Hat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sorting Hat

WHEN THOMAS and Jimmy finally left the train, they didn’t see Hogwarts but a gigantic man with long brown, curly hair and a huge belly, who was screaming:

‘Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!’

‘Are you sure that this isn’t a trap or something?’ asked Jimmy, who looked at all the other students who left the station in another direction. Thomas sighed.

‘Come on, Jimmy. We have to follow him. My-, my father told me about him. His name is Madrid or something like that.’

‘All right. After you, Thomas,’ said Jimmy pointing to the small boat behind the man.

‘Ah, you two, you are the last ones. Make yourselves as small as possible I have to join you.’

As the man, who introduced himself as Hagrid, entered the boat, it started to topple dangerously. Molesley who had held onto Thomas' shoulder up until this point meowed and jumped back to the bank.

‘Traitor,’ murmured Thomas.

‘Sweet cat, you have, young man. But pupils are supposed to bring their pets in a cage. I know, I don’t like cages myself. You know, I have a dog. He is … a bit taller than your cat and has three hea- eh, three teeth which are already very sharp. Ehm, what did I want to say? Ah, no cages. No.’

The giant continued to murmur something but Thomas didn’t listen. Far away on the horizon, he could finally see the castle illuminated by the faint orange light from the windows.

‘Wow,’ whispered Jimmy. Probably more to himself than to Thomas, but this one time, Thomas had to agree. The picture of the castle, illuminated by magical lights placed itself in strong contrast to the dark of the night.

After they had reached the mooring, they were led into the castle where a severe looking woman welcomed them.

‘Hello, I’m Professor Isobel Crawley. I teach transformation, so we will soon meet in class. But for now, I’d like to welcome you. Please wait here until the door opens and the sorting hat is ready for you. As you’ve probably heard from your parents or siblings, the Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room."’

The students nodded nervously.

‘Okay, students. Please form a line. We go in,’ said Professor Crawley. As if on cue, the big door opened and revealed a great hall – the Great Hall. It was lit by candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Thomas looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.

‘This is so great,’ murmured Jimmy into Thomas’ back. They stopped in the middle of the hall. In front of them, was a chair with a brown, old hat on it.

‘So, the sorting hat is indeed a hat, huh. Greasy,’ whispered Jimmy unimpressed.

‘Psh!’, hissed Thomas, ‘Quiet!’ He licked his dry lips before he continued, trying to keep his voice down and his face motionless. ‘Obviously, it is a hat. What did your parents tell you?‘

‘Don’t know,’ he shrugged. ‘I just thought it would be- a man or so. Oh, Thomas, I don’t want that filthy hat on my head. It will ruin my hair. It’s greasy. I bet it’s greasy.’

‘Psh,’ said Thomas again, ‘Show some respect. This ‘greasy’ hat has been working here for centuries so it must be good at it.’

‘Good at what exactly?’ asked Jimmy in return. Thomas’ eyes widened in surprise.

‘You really don’t know, do you?’ Jimmy looked down ashamed.

‘No.’

‘The Sorting Hat will, I don’t know exactly either, look into your head and recognise your strengths and weaknesses. And then, it will sort you into one of the houses. All right?’

Jimmy nodded and shook his head simultaneously.

‘Just watch,’ whispered Thomas as the first student approached the hat. It was a red-haired girl with freckles and a big nose. She placed the hat on her head and waited. Thomas could hear the hat mumbling but he didn’t understand a word. After a few more seconds, the hat screamed: HUFFLEPUFF! And the crowd cheered.

‘Easy, isn’t it’ said Thomas as he walked to the hat.

‘Hello, hello,’ whispered a soft voice, ‘Oh, I see intelligence and bravery, but I also see snootiness and arrogance. It’s difficult, so difficult. Your heart is pure, I can see it, I can feel it. But your mind – there is a problem.’

‘No!’ hissed Thomas, ‘How dare you?`

‘Psh, my little friend. Oh, I remember: Your mother was in Ravenclaw, wasn’t she? She was so bright and so friendly. Oh yes, and your father was in Hufflepuff – but you? I know:  
GRYFFINDOR!’ screamed the hat, and Thomas was relieved to be free again.

‘Greasy indeed,’ he mumbled as he went to the table on the right-hand side.

The next student was a boy, John Bates. He had brown hair and impressive eyebrows – and a slight limp as Thomas observed. The Sorting Hat needed some minutes before it screamed: SLYTHERIN!

More students followed but Thomas gaze was fixed on Jimmy who seemed lost in the Great Hall.

‘James Kent’ demanded the hat suddenly, and Thomas smirked as he saw that the tips of Jimmy’s ears had gone red. Thomas sat back and observed how the hat talked to the boy. Jimmy had his eyes closed and furrowed his brow.

‘Please, Gryffindor,’ whispered Thomas. He needed a friend. And the hat, indeed, screamed: ‘Gryffindor!’

Jimmy smiled as he walked to the table.

‘This is so great.’ Thomas nodded.

‘You did well up there.’

‘Really? Thank you.’ The boys smiled, sat back and observed the other students.

 

A red-haired and really tall Alfred Nugent was sorted into Gryffindor. A girl with brown hair, Sarah O’Brien, into Ravenclaw, Andy Parker also into Gryffindor and finally, a petite girl with blonde hair, Anna Smith was her name, was sorted into Hufflepuff.

The headmaster stood up, a man with a long grey beard and even longer hair. He raised his glass and merely said:

‘Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak!’ and sat down.

‘What?’ mouthed Jimmy, but as he saw that all the plates had suddenly filled with delicious dishes, he just shrugged and started eating.

 _This is going to be a strange year,_ thought Thomas as he looked back and forth between Jimmy and Charles Carson.


End file.
